What does ‘bust the budget’ actually look like for the Cowboys in free agency?
NFL free agency is set to begin Monday, as teams around the league are honing in on external free agent targets who could make sense for their 2026 squads.
The Dallas Cowboys are no different, as they spent the week clearing cap space to “bust the budget” in free agency, as owner Jerry Jones has put it multiple times this offseason.
Now, busting the budget is a lofty promise with multiple interpretations. It could mean spending more than any other team in free agency. It could mean using every available dollar in the salary cap to spend on outside talent.
It could also simply mean spending more than what the Cowboys have done in the past. For what it’s worth, Dallas is ranked last in outside free agent spending over the past five offseasons, so an uptick wouldn’t be particularly notable.
So, what does it actually mean?
Well, reading the tea leaves of conversations behind the scenes should offer insight into what is ahead for the Cowboys. They are monitoring the situation of Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby as a potential trade piece. And if that doesn’t come to fruition, the team is expected to make a run at former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Considering both would come with hefty price tags toward the cap, that alone should indicate that Dallas is big-game hunting to address major holes on the defensive side of the ball.
Beginning Monday, teams are allowed to legally communicate with impending free agents and agree to deals, in principle. On Wednesday, the new league year officially begins and teams can put pen to paper with free agents.
How the Cowboys can be aggressive in free agency
“I see me being aggressive. I could see us being aggressive in free agency,” Jones said at the NFL Combine. “We will spend money.”
That was a notable comment from Jones considering that, at that time, the Cowboys didn’t have money to spend. In fact, Dallas was more in the red over the salary cap than any other team in the NFL. But after restructuring the contracts of quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and offensive lineman Tyler Smith, the team was able to free up $67 million toward the cap in 2026 to get back under the salary cap.
While more work will need to be done — notably with defensive tackles Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa — the Cowboys will have the freedom to spend anywhere from $35 million to $60 million in free agency based on how those contracts end up being restructured.
Let’s say the number settles around $50 million. The beauty of NFL contracts allows teams to give players signing bonuses that do not count toward the cap in the first year, but can instead be spread out over the course of the contract and into “void years” after the contract is completed. For example, running back Javonte Williams’ new three-year, $24 million deal is $8 million per year in theory, but his cap number in 2026 will only count as $3.95 million after he signed a $6 million signing bonus.
That freedom could allow the Cowboys to load up on big contracts that would not count as high in the first year. Even in a trade for Crosby, Dallas would only have take on $7.73 million of his $30.7 million salary in 2026. If the Cowboys instead were to acquire Hendrickson at his projected market value price of $25.4 million per year, that number could obviously be brought down as well.
However, that money doesn’t just vanish. It has to go somewhere, it has to count for something. That’s where “busting the budget” comes into play.
How ‘busting the budget’ affects future years
Dak Prescott spoke at a charity event on Wednesday where he talked confidently about the team’s ability to quickly retool the defense and be a contender in 2026.
While the quarterback should be saying those things and has said those things in almost every year in the past, this year’s statement does have a bit of added context. Prescott has been made well aware of Jones’ “bust the budget” comments and the team’s aggressive desire in free agency. If those things come to fruition, it actually does set up the 2026 team for success. But it runs the risk of being just that, the 2026 season.
Dallas has operated under the thought that its window to create success lasts as long as Prescott’s contract does (it expires at the end of the 2028 season). However, if the Cowboys are preparing to push money down the line — as they have already done with contracts of players they already have in place — that money is locked into future years, making it more difficult to spend in future free agencies and paving the way for difficult cap casualty decisions.
Now, has it completely shortened the Cowboys’ window to one year? No, but it sure has lowered their potential in future years to maximize their potential in 2026.
It’s all in theory until the Cowboys put their money where their mouth is and actually pony up for big free agents next week. But if you see big contracts and low 2026 cap numbers on the Cowboys’ salary cap sheet in a couple of weeks, refer back to this breakdown.
Whether it’s “busting the budget” or going “all-in” or whatever Jerry-ism awaits in the future, it all has the potential to manifest in the span of just a couple of weeks in March. For now, we just wait and see.
